CN107466228B

CN107466228B - Nail correction device and method for mounting the same on nail plate

Info

Publication number: CN107466228B
Application number: CN201580076137.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 诺伯特·苏特
Original assignee: 3TO GmbH
Current assignee: 3TO GmbH
Priority date: 2015-01-12
Filing date: 2015-12-18
Publication date: 2020-04-14
Anticipated expiration: 2035-12-18
Also published as: DE202015009042U1; JP6820105B2; EP3244847A1; ES2711784T3; KR20170104536A; DE102015100323B4; RU2663715C1; KR102058784B1; JP2018501075A; WO2016113073A1; EP3244847B1; CN107466228A; DE102015100323A1; PL3244847T3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a nail correcting device and a method of mounting the device on a nail plate. The device (10) comprises a first adhesive element (12), a second adhesive element (14), a telescopic element (16) elastically telescopic between said first and second adhesive elements (12, 14), and a fixation element (18). The first (12) and second (14) adhesive elements are spaced apart and interconnected by a telescopic element (16). The first and second adhesive elements are each secured to the nail plate by an adhesive connection. According to the invention, the first adhesive element, the second adhesive element and the telescopic element form a non-detachable unit and are designed as one piece. At the same time, the telescopic element is elastic as a tensile element in the direction of its longitudinal axis.

Description

Nail correction device and method for mounting the same on nail plate

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a nail correcting device and a method of mounting the device on a nail plate.

Background

To treat ingrown or incurvated nails, especially the big toenails, a variety of nail aligners have been developed to replace the painful and long-term post-operative recovery requiring surgery (Emmert plastic). Such as a stent named orthonyxia, can significantly relieve pain and accelerate healing by reducing the curvature of the nail plate, thereby reducing stress on the often inflamed nail folds. To maintain the therapeutic effect, the orthonyxia stent needs to be fixed on the nail plate continuously for several weeks to several months in order to correct the nail during the growth process of the nail.

These nail straighteners rely on restoring and pulling forces, or a combination of both, acting beyond the center of the nail. Wherein a restoring force is/should be applied normally/vertically to the nail plate; while pulling forces are generally/should be applied horizontally to the nail plate, creating moments in those areas of the nail that need to be lifted.

Nail aligners include wire aligners or adhesive aligners made of plastic and metal. The present invention relates to an improved adhesive nail corrector.

Adhesive nail aligners need to be bonded to the nail plate, sometimes with the application of a pre-stressed bond, or in an un-pre-stressed condition. If bonded without pre-stress, the adhesive orthosis is first bonded to the nail plate and then a pulling force is applied thereto by a pulling element (e.g. a wire or a spring element). For this purpose, it must be ensured that the adhesive orthosis is sufficiently fixed, the resulting tensile force being maintained at all times and not being released accidentally. Currently, adhesive orthotics using restoring forces and pulling forces are known. The amount of tension in the orthotic may be varied for each individual system by preselecting different sections, materials, or reducing the thickness of the orthotic, and also by adjusting traction elements, such as tensioning wires, in an adhered state.

DE 3330813C 2 discloses a nail correction device comprising two adhesive elements which are mounted on the nail plate at a distance. The two attachment elements are interconnected by a leaf spring which exerts a restoring force on one of the attachment elements in a direction away from the nail plate. The adhesion element is provided with a recess for connection with the spring plate. However, this design has the disadvantage that the spring plate needs to be dimensioned appropriately to obtain the required restoring force, and likewise the recess for the attachment spring plate needs to be dimensioned appropriately to take up the restoring force generated by the spring and to transmit said restoring force to the nail plate. The restoring force can only be set by selecting a spring plate with proper material and size, and cannot be continuously adjusted.

US 4,057,055 a also discloses an adhesively mounted nail correction device comprising two adhesive elements which are fixed to the nail plate parallel to each other and form a connecting plate. Between which one or more telescopic elements transversely connected to the web are fixed and stretched. The connecting plate is provided with a fixing buckle for connecting the telescopic element. The fixing buckle is used for fixing one end of the telescopic element to the corresponding connecting plate. The telescopic element is a rubber wire which is preset with a plurality of fixed positions. The technical scheme has the defect that the tension of the correcting device cannot be continuously adjusted because the rubber wire can only be fixed at a preset fixed position. Furthermore, the telescopic element is arranged at a relatively large distance from the nail plate. Thus, this design is very inflexible and may lead to user inconvenience in everyday use. And such telescopic elements may be lost.

EP 0282645 a1 discloses a nail corrector provided with a spring plate which is completely glued to the nail plate. For example: one force that must be applied perpendicularly to the nail plate-the restoring force of the leaf spring can affect the corrective effect. This document suggests the use of reinforced fiberglass thermoset plastics as the spring plate. This design does not provide a continuously adjustable pull force. However, the restoring force can be set by selecting a suitable spring plate.

DE 3233419C 2 discloses a nail correction device comprising two adhesive elements which are adhered to the nail plate in a spaced apart manner. The adhesive elements are respectively provided with a hook, and the hooks are aligned in a face-to-face manner. When the telescopic element is attached to the hook, the telescopic element, such as a rubber ring, is tensioned. The problem with this solution is that during daily use the overall height of the device may cause trouble to the patient due to the hook. Moreover, the rubber ring may be deformed and lost.

US 3,032,032 a and DE 102007056614 a1 disclose devices for attachment to the front of a nail plate.

A generic nail correction device is disclosed in US 2011/0282257 a 1. The device comprises a first adhesion element and a second adhesion element, wherein a wavy elastic wire is arranged between the first adhesion element and the second adhesion element, and the tail end of the elastic wire is firmly connected to the adhesion elements. The first adhesive member and the second adhesive member are spaced apart from each other and are connected to each other by a telescopic member. The first and second adhesive elements are each adhesively attached to an area of the nail plate. The first adhesive member, the second adhesive member and the telescoping member are integrally formed. The telescopic element is longitudinally telescopic and acts as a traction unit.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks, the object of the present invention is to improve the nail correction device described in the above-mentioned prior art, which provides a nail correction device that retains its flat design, is inexpensive to manufacture, has a continuously adjustable tension and is simple to install.

The present invention is based on the finding that the use of an integrated design for the device allows the device to have a flat profile and to be manufactured easily and at low cost with a simple process. In addition, the design structure can effectively prevent the telescopic element from being accidentally lost, thereby causing the tension to be released during the treatment. The present invention provides another solution for further optimizing nail correction devices, as described in detail below.

According to the invention, a fixing element is connected to one of the adhesive elements and is used for manually fixing the telescopic element in an elastically stretched state, with or without the use of tools, when fixing the device to the nail plate, said fixing element being of one-piece, integral design with the first and second adhesive elements and the telescopic element. This design provides a handle and assembly tool for stretching the device (essentially the telescopic element) in a simple manner and which can be cut off completely after use, leaving a structure which can be easily manufactured flat and integrated. In addition, the present invention can continuously stretch the telescopic elements in a simple manner, thereby enabling the tension on the nail plate to be independently adjusted.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the fixing element is connected to the adhesive element by a connecting region. The connection area is a connection plate. The cross-section of the connecting plate is much smaller than the cross-section of the fixing element, which makes it possible to easily separate the fixing element from the adhesive element.

Preferably, the fixation element, in particular the connection area between the fixation element and the adhesive element, is arranged at a distance from the contact surface of the adhesive element when mounted on the nail plate, in order to prevent the fixation element from accidentally adhering to the nail plate. This measure can greatly reduce the difficulty of mounting the device on the nail plate.

According to a further advantageous development of the invention, the shape of the cross section of the telescopic element differs from the shape of the cross section of the adhesive element. The cross-sections of the telescopic elements can be individually adjusted to suit the desired tensile properties (the cross-sections of the telescopic elements can be individually adjusted according to the desired tensile properties), for example, the first and second adhesive elements are designed to be wider than the telescopic elements. This unique approach enables the telescoping member to possess different stretch properties than the first and second adhesive members. The telescopic element may also be longer than at least one of the adhesion elements. However, the length of the telescopic element is essentially dependent on the size of the nail.

Preferably, the adhesive element is coated with a layer of adhesive. This enables the adhesive element to be adhered directly to the nail plate for use. Thus, no additional layer of adhesive needs to be applied.

Preferably, the device, including the adhesion element and the telescopic element, in particular the fixation element, is made of the same material.

Alternatively, the telescopic element, the two adhesive elements and/or the fixation element may be made of different materials. The properties of each element can be optimized by selecting suitable materials. For example, the telescopic elements may be made of a highly elastic material, while the adhesive elements may be made of a less elastic material that is insensitive to the adhesive applied thereon.

Whether the device is made of one material or of a plurality of different materials, the device is preferably designed as a thin sheet element whose cross-section has a height which is smaller than its width. Therefore, the sheet element is of a flat structure and the manufacturing process is simple.

This ensures that the adhesive element has a better anchoring effect on the nail plate when both the height and the width of the adhesive element are greater than the height and the width of the telescopic element, which can be used as a traction element if the telescopic element has optimized its tensile properties.

More specifically, the telescoping member is disposed at a distance from the adhesive member contact surface. This is a simple way to prevent the telescopic element from coming into contact with the adhesive on the adhesive element when the telescopic element comes into contact with the nail. Furthermore, placing the telescopic element at a distance from the nail plate increases the moment it exerts on the nail plate.

As a specific embodiment of the present invention, the two adhesion elements have the same shape. Since there is no need to distinguish between the left-side adhesion member and the right-side adhesion member, the installation is facilitated.

Preferably, said telescopic elements are strip-shaped so as to be able to extend directly from one of said adhesion elements to the other adhesion element in the direction of the longitudinal axis. In particular, the telescopic element is rectangular when viewed from the top downwards.

The invention also relates to a method for mounting the above-mentioned device on the finger-nail plate and the toe-nail plate.

The method comprises the following steps:

adhering a first adhesive element to a first region of the nail plate;

elastically tensioning the telescopic element;

adhering a second adhesive element to a second region of the nail plate, during which the elastic tension of the telescopic element is maintained at all times, thereby applying a continuous tension to both adhesive elements;

the fixation elements are removed.

Preferably, a cyanoacrylate-based adhesive is used to attach the adhesive elements. Such adhesives have proven to be reliable for use in nail plates.

As another embodiment of the present invention, a set of devices of different sizes and/or different tensile properties is provided. An appropriate device is selected from the set of devices according to the size of the nail plate or the desired pulling force, and then the selected device is mounted on the nail plate according to the above-described method.

Preferably, the securing element is removed after securing the device to the nail plate. Removal of the fixation element is accomplished by disconnecting the fixation element from the adhesive element at the connection region. Since the fixing member is used to stretch the telescopic member, the size of the fixing member should be larger than that of the telescopic member; since the fixing element will eventually be removed, the use of the device is not impaired. After the device has been installed, the fixing elements are simply detached.

On the nail plate, the telescopic elements may also be arranged in a manner substantially crosswise to the longitudinal axis of the digit. In essence, the device and/or the telescopic element are adjusted according to the desired stretching direction or the desired moment applied to the nail plate.

Preferably, the device is made using an injection moulding process and/or a casting process.

Detailed Description

Other advantages, features and potential applications of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and referred to in the figures.

The terms and associated reference numerals (reference numerals) throughout the specification, claims and drawings are listed in the following list of reference numerals. In the drawings, there is shown in the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention, provided with two adhesive elements and a telescopic element connecting the two adhesive elements, wherein one of the adhesive elements is provided with a fixing element.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 2, an

Fig. 4 is a front view of the apparatus of fig. 3.

Fig. 1 to 4 show a nail correcting device 10 according to the present invention. For clarity, the nail plate to which the device 10 is attached is not shown in FIGS. 1-4.

The device 10 comprises a first adhesive element 12, a second adhesive element 14 arranged at a distance from the first adhesive element 12, a telescopic element 16 interconnecting the first adhesive element 12 and the second adhesive element 14, and a fixation element 18. First adhesion element 12 and second adhesion element 14 have the same shape and are wider (in width) than telescoping element 16. The fixing element 18 is connected to the second adhesion element 14 by a connecting plate 22. The first adhesive attachment member 12 and the second adhesive attachment member 14 are attached to the nail plate in a non-central position.

When the device is installed, the first adhesive element 12 and the second adhesive element 14 each have a contact surface 20 for attachment to the nail plate. The two

adhesive elements

12 and 14 are provided with an adhesive layer for fixing the

adhesive elements

12 and 14 to the nail plate. The side of the adhesive layer facing the nail plate constitutes the contact surface 20 of the first adhesive element 12 and the second adhesive element 14.

The first and second

adhesive members

12 and 14 form a non-separable unit with the telescopic member 16. As shown in fig. 2, the non-separable unit is substantially bone-shaped as viewed from the top downward. The telescopic member 16 is rectangular in shape, viewed from the top of the telescopic member 16 downwards. In other words, the telescoping member 16 is strip-shaped and the telescoping member 16 will extend along the longitudinal axis from the first adhesive attachment member 12 directly to the second adhesive attachment member 14. The telescopic elements are provided with an

adhesive element

12 and 14 of the same shape on each side. The

adhesive members

12 and 14 and the telescopic member 16 are made of the same material and are integrally formed. The device 10 may be made of thermoplastic polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, or rubber. The shape of the telescopic element 16 is more elongated than the shape of the

adhesive elements

12 and 14, and the height of the telescopic element 16 is lower than the height of the

adhesive elements

12 and 14, so that the elasticity of the telescopic element 16 is better than that of the

adhesive elements

12 and 14. Furthermore, the telescopic element 16 is spaced a little from the contact surface 20, but this cannot be seen in the figure because of insufficient resolution.

Alternatively, the telescoping member 16 may be made of a material that is more resilient than the material used for the

adhesive members

12 and 14. A non-separable unit of different materials can be made by a combination of injection molding/casting processes. This is another way of manufacturing the sheet like device 10.

The respective faces of the

adhesion elements

12 and 14 and the telescopic element 16 facing the nail plate are ground to a cambered surface, resulting in a circumferential edge facing the contact face 20. The upper surface of the telescopic element 16 is flush with the

adhesive elements

12 and 14. Alternatively, the telescoping member 16 may also be slightly downwardly offset relative to the top surface of the

adhesive members

12 and 14. In addition, the telescoping member 16 remains somewhat clear of the interface 20 of the laterally attached

adhesive attachment members

12 and 14. This is a simple way of preventing the telescopic element 16 from adhering to the nail plate, for example, when the installation is carried out, the equipment is subjected to pressure and the adhesive leaks out from the sides of the

adhesive elements

12 and 14.

The attachment element 14 is connected to a web 22, the web 22 serving as a connection area for the fixing element 18. The fixing element 18, which is also designed in the form of a sheet, narrows in the direction of the web 22 and connects with the web 22, is of sufficiently firm design to enable the telescopic element 16 to be tensioned by the adhesion element 14 and the web 22 to be tensioned when the device 10 is mounted, as will be seen in more detail below. The fixing element 18 and the connecting plate 22 are made of the same material as the second adhesion element 14. The first adhesive element 12, the telescopic element 16, the second adhesive element 14, the connecting plate 22 and the fixing element 18 can be made of the same or different materials, depending on the application. The key is the possibility of creating a pulling force in the telescopic element 16, which is created by stretching the telescopic element 16 by the securing element 18, the web 22 and the second adhesive element 14.

The connection plate 22 is arranged at a distance from the contact surface 20 of the adhesive element 14. This arrangement prevents the attachment plate 22 and the fixing element 18 from accidentally adhering to the nail plate during adhesion, with adhesive applied to or leaking from the sides of the device.

The method of installation of the device 10 to the nail plate comprises the following steps:

to treat the embedded toenail, the nail margin needs to be lifted slightly to relieve the nail folds. To this end, a set of devices 10 of different sizes and/or having different tensile properties is provided. An appropriate device 10 is selected from the above-described devices 10 based on the size of the nail plate and the desired pulling force.

A layer of a fast-curing adhesive, such as a cyanoacrylate adhesive, is then applied to the attachment member 12. After attachment of the attachment member 12 to the nail plate, a layer of curable adhesive is applied to the attachment member 14, and the attachment member 14 is then adhered to the nail plate as described below. Or the

adhesive elements

12 and 14 have been previously coated with an adhesive and covered with a protective film. In this case, the protective film would need to be removed and the

attachment members

12 and 14 would need to be secured to the nail plate.

The adhesive is first cured by pressing the adhesive element 12 down for a period of time such that the adhesive element 12 adheres to a non-central location of the nail plate. Then, the fixing member 18 is clamped and a tensile force is applied to the fixing member 18. The telescopic element 16 is continuously stretched to obtain the desired traction. This traction is first applied to the non-central position of the nail plate by means of the adhesive elements 12. With the telescoping member 16 in tension, the second adhesive member 14 is placed on the nail plate and the second adhesive member 14 is secured in this position by pressing the second adhesive member 14 for a sufficient amount of time to fully cure the adhesive. This prevents the previously acquired tensile force of the telescopic element 16 from being released. The securing element 18 is then detached from the second adhesive element 14 and the webs 22 adjacent the second adhesive element 14 can be severed by cutting devices such as scissors, side knives or knives.

After the device 10 is secured, the elastically tensioned telescopic element 16 applies a constant tension between the two

adhesive elements

12 and 14. When the two

adhesive attachment members

12 and 14 are subjected to the pulling force generated by the telescoping member 16, bending moments are generated on both sides of the nail. The bending moment is generated by the tensioned telescopic element 16. Bending moments acting on the nail plate can lift the nail edges, relieving the nail folds. Over time, lifting the nail plate slightly gradually causes the nail plate to no longer grow inward.

The quick and easy to use nature of nail corrector 10 makes it particularly desirable for cost savings for doctors, podiatists, and foot beauty care professionals.

Since the device 10 does not include any small wire hooks that would always present an injury to the frequently inflamed nail folds when the device is attached, the use of the device 10 is safer than conventional wire stents. The nail correcting device 10 of the present invention may also be used in accordance with the description provided below.

The pulling force of the device 10 and the resulting bending moment on the nail can be continuously adjusted to the patient's needs.

The rounded surface of device 10 allows the therapist to mount this nail correcting device 10 of the present invention directly to the edge of the nail plate. This feature enhances the therapeutic effect of the device 10 because the mounting point of the device 10 can be as far from the center of the nail as possible.

The present invention provides a nail correcting device 10 having a simple structure, the device 10 being manufactured at a low cost and the pulling force being continuously adjustable. Because the device 10 employs a thin sheet design and a rounded design, the device 10 does not interfere with the patient's daily life during treatment. One particular advantage of the present device 10 is its flattening. In fact, the present device 10 is designed as an inseparable, one-piece unit that prevents individual components from being lost. The two

adhesive elements

12 and 14 are simply attached and detached, in particular tightened, by the fastening element without any tools. The mounting positions (of the adhesive elements) can be individually selected depending on the position on the nail plate where the bending moment is to be applied. Thus, the new nail corrector 10 to which the present invention relates is an optimized aid and is a further development of existing adhesive stents.

List of labels

10 device

12 first adhesive element

14 second adhesive element

16 telescoping member

18 fixing element

20 contact surface

22 connecting plate, connecting area

Claims

1. A nail correcting device (10) comprising a first adhesive member (12), a second adhesive member (14), and a telescopic member (16) elastically telescopic between the first and second adhesive members (12, 14), the first adhesive member (12) and the second adhesive member (14) being spaced apart from each other and connected to each other by the telescopic member (16), the first and second adhesive members (12, 14) being respectively fixable to a nail plate by adhesion; the first adhesive element (12), the second adhesive element (14) and the telescopic element (16) form a non-separable unit and are designed as a whole; the telescopic element (16) is used as a traction element and extends back and forth along the length direction of the telescopic element, and is characterized in that a fixing element (18) is connected to the second adhesion element (14), when the device (10) is fixed on a finger plate, the fixing element (18) is used for manually fixing the telescopic element (16) in an elastic stretching state, with or without tools, and the fixing element (18), the first adhesion element (12), the second adhesion element (14) and the telescopic element (16) form a whole and are designed in an integrated mode.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing element (18) is connected to the second adhesion element (14) by a connecting zone (22), which is a web (22), the cross section of the web (22) being smaller than the cross section of the second adhesion element (14).

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing element (18) is arranged on the nail plate at a distance from the contact face (20) of the respective second adhesive element (14) in order to prevent the fixing element (18) from accidentally adhering to the nail plate.

4. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cross section of said telescopic element (16) is different from the cross sections of the first and second adhesion elements (12, 14).

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that said first and second adhesion elements (12, 14) are wider than the telescopic element (16).

6. A device according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in that the first and second adhesive means (12, 14) are coated with an adhesive.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first and second adhesion elements (12, 14) and the telescopic element (16) are made of the same material.

8. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the telescopic element (16), the first and second adhesive elements (12, 14) and/or the fixing element (18) are made of different materials.

9. A device according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in that at least the telescopic element (16) is made of thermoplastic polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride or rubber.

10. A device according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the device is configured in a sheet-like manner, i.e. the device has a cross-section with a height which is smaller than its width.

11. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first and second adhesive elements (12, 14) have a height and a width that are greater than the height and the width of the telescopic element (16).

12. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the telescopic element (16) is arranged at a distance from the contact surfaces (20) of the first and second adhesive elements (12, 14).

13. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the telescopic element (16) is a strip-shaped structure, the telescopic element (16) extending from the first adhesive element (12) directly to the second adhesive element (14) in the direction of the longitudinal axis, or from the second adhesive element (14) directly to the first adhesive element (12) in the direction of the longitudinal axis.

14. Method of attaching the device (10) according to claim 1 to the finger and toe nail plates, characterized by the following steps:

a. adhering a first adhesive element (12) to a first region of the nail plate;

b. elastically stretching the telescopic element (16);

c. -gluing said second adhesive element (14) to a second area of the nail plate, during which the elastic tension of the telescopic element (16) is maintained at all times, so as to continuously apply a traction force to said first and second adhesive elements (12, 14);

d. the fixing element (18) is removed.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a cyanoacrylate-based adhesive is preferred for bonding the first and second adhesive elements (12, 14).

16. Method according to claim 14, characterized in that a set of devices (10) of different sizes and/or different tensile properties is provided, an appropriate device (10) is selected from the set of devices (10) depending on the size of the nail plate and/or the desired traction force, and the selected device (10) is then mounted on the nail plate.

17. The method of any of claims 14-16, wherein the securing element (18) is removed from the device (10) by: the fastening element (18) is detached from the second adhesive element (14) via the connecting region (22).

18. Method according to any of claims 14-16, characterized in that the device (10) is made using an injection moulding process and/or a casting process.